


i wanna touch you (but not like this)

by fandomnerd



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Episode Tag: s02e15 Life Was So Much Easier When I Only Cared About Myself, F/F, Making Out, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:40:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23297941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomnerd/pseuds/fandomnerd
Summary: An interlude between Hope and Dark Josie in the library, set between Hope trapping Kaleb in the chambre de chasse and her conversation with Landon.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 13
Kudos: 276





	i wanna touch you (but not like this)

**Author's Note:**

> hey folks! it's weird that this is my first fic for the legacies fandom, because it's definitely not the first fic i've _considered_ writing for this fandom lmao. but this season (and this arc in particular) has given me so much fodder for my hope/josie loving soul, and after this episode the idea just wouldn't let me go.
> 
> title is from "i wanna be your girlfriend" by girl in red
> 
> enjoy!

She would never admit it under pain of death, but Hope was kind of turned on, and it sucked.

She'd done such a good job of squashing all those pesky feelings she had about Josie—who was the definition of "off limits" if she'd ever seen it—into the neat and tidy box of friendship. And she was happy with that! Being friends with Josie meant they could hold hands, and cuddle, and hug, and talk about things that she couldn't talk about with anyone else. Being friends with Josie made her feel like she _mattered_ , like maybe she _was_ brought into the world for a reason beyond causing the deaths of everyone she cared about and then sacrificing herself to stop Malivore.

And she was fine with being just friends with Josie, because she loved Landon. She did! He was cute, and sweet, and caring, and he  _ loved _ her. Picked her over Josie, even, which she didn't think anyone in their right mind would ever do. After all, why would anyone  _ not _ want to date Josie?

But that was beside the point. Because all of those feelings? Those were about the real Josie. The Josie that she relied on, who cared about her friends and family so much it hurt, who had been there for Hope over and over again even when she had absolutely no reason to. Josie who had inadvertently become part of Hope's small but precious group of "always and forever" people, regardless of resurging crushes or boy drama. So Hope was determined to bring her back, to save her from Dark Josie before she did something she'd regret for the rest of her life.

(And it wasn't like Hope didn't understand where Josie was coming from. Wasn't like Hope hadn't done awful things too, hadn't killed people...hadn't done a lot of things she regretted. So unlike most of the Super Squad, she was standing firmly in the No Judgement Zone—but if she could spare Josie even a drop of the pain she herself had worked through, she was going to do exactly that.

Plus, she and Lizzie were...basically friends now? Weird as that was. And for better or worse, Lizzie was part of her "forever and always" too now, which meant Hope couldn't let Josie kill her.)

So Hope had been all gung-ho with the determination, ready to save Josie from her darker self. Ready to save her best friend, by any means necessary. Romance was, frankly, the  _ last _ thing on her mind, regardless of all the...moments she and Josie had been sharing lately.

And then Dark Josie had to go and be _hot_.

Like, Josie was beautiful all the time, and Hope would challenge anyone who disagreed to have their eyes examined. But despite Dark Josie's insults and cruelty and the whole "trying to kill Lizzie" thing...she was _sexy as hell_ and it _sucked_.

"Whatcha doin', Hope?"

Speak of the devil.

Hope slammed the tome shut hastily, glaring up at Josie where she'd appeared out of nowhere, sitting on the edge of the table with her legs crossed. Her skirt was riding up. If Hope looked, she'd see miles of bare skin, Josie's incredible legs on full display. "Nothing that's any business of yours," Hope said, trying her best not to look.

Josie's face lit up in that cold amusement that terrified her and turned her on in equal measure. "Now now, Hope, we both know that's not true." She tapped a finger to her lip, swinging her legs without a care in the world. "Let me guess: you're researching another way to get through to me, to reach the "goodness" inside of me. Even though I've made it as clear as I possibly can that the weak, pathetic Josie that you knew is _dead_."

"Yeah, well, I don't believe that. Call me stubborn."

One of Josie's hands slid carefully over the desk, landing on Hope's. She sucked in a breath, then tried to pretend she hadn't.

"And what will it take to convince you to stop trying to save me? To accept that this is the new, improved me." Her hand kept moving, fingers tracing nonsense patterns up Hope's arm. "With time and an open mind, I'm sure you'll even grow to prefer me to her."

Hope felt frozen—she wanted to pull away, didn't want  _ this _ Josie's hands on her (especially after what she'd done to Alyssa), but she felt pinned by Josie's gaze. Her traitorous body tingled wherever Josie touched her.

She aimed to say something cool and unaffected, like "that's never going to happen," or "what makes you so sure?" Instead, she blurted out: "What's so improved about you?"

_ That _ froze Josie, her gaze cutting toward hope icily. She raised one eyebrow, urging. 

Hope swallowed.  _ In for a penny... _ "From where I'm sitting the only things you've done are change your wardrobe and fly around showing off how magically powerful you are. In ways that are frankly uninspired, I have to say. But Josie was always magically powerful, so what gives? What makes you so much better than my Josie?"

Hope had barely registered her pronoun slip-up (obviously Josie wasn't _hers_ , she didn't know why she kept _saying_ that) before she was out of her seat and pinned to the wall, Josie's arm outstretched and eyes blacked over with magic. "Shut _up!_ "

"Did I strike a nerve? My bad," Hope said, totally unconvincingly.

"You more than anyone should know how weak Josie is. What a coward she is."

"Me more than anyone? Why?"

The darkness receded from Josie's eyes, apparently just so she could roll them at Hope. "It's the reason you lost so many things in that fire, isn't it? That stupid love letter, and Josie chickening out in spectacular fashion."

"I forgave Josie for that already. And that doesn't make her a coward."

"Oh, I think it does. She's afraid to go after what she wants, too weak to think she'll ever get it." The smile that split Josie's face sent shivers down Hope's spine for more than one reason. "That's where she and I differ. I'm not afraid to go after what I want—and I'm strong enough to  _ take _ it."

Despite her words, though, the magic keeping Hope stuck to the wall faded as she drew closer. She slid down, landing on her feet just as Josie moved into her personal space.

Someone more objective than Hope was capable of being about this situation might have attacked. Knocked Josie out and run away, or maybe locked her in some kind of special magic-proof cell. 

Hope did none of that. Instead, she thought about how the best way to keep Josie from hurting anyone else (particularly Lizzie) was to keep her distracted here, with her. And that Dark Josie smelled _different_ from normal Josie, but not necessarily in a bad way. And that her face was like, really close. And—oh, _wow_.

It took Hope about three full seconds to register that Josie was kissing her, the siphoner's hands tangling in Hope's hair in a  _ very _ not unpleasant way, and about ten seconds of kissing her back before she remembered all the reasons why this was a bad idea. A terrible idea. Oh god, so many reasons.

"Wait wait wait," she breathed, pulling back from Josie's lips, which were just as soft as she'd always imagined them. 

(The way she  _ used _ to imagine them. But didn't anymore. Because she was totally over Josie, this lapse in judgement notwithstanding. If only Dark Josie weren't so distractingly hot.) 

"I can't—I mean, this isn't a good..." There were a million signs about why this was a bad idea flashing neon in her mind. If only she could verbalize any of them. "I'm with—" Hope managed to cut herself off before she said Landon's name, but the damage was done. 

Josie's face, which had looked actually almost Josie-like for a second as Hope had pulled away, brow furrowing in adorable confusion, went dark. Her arm shot out again, but rather than using magic to pin her to the wall, her hand just pressed on Hope's throat. Not quite choking, but exerting a firm pressure. Hope could have easily shoved her away, but for some reason she couldn't muster the willpower.

"Trust me, I am _very_ well aware of who you're dating, Hope. Your _epic love_ , right? The kind of love where you'll _always_ choose each other—over everyone, but especially me." She laughed mockingly. "Except...that isn't quite true, is it? When push came to shove, Landon kicked me to the curb to run straight into your arms...but _you_ keep choosing m—everyone else. Doesn't sound very much like true love to me, now does it?" Her voice grew steadily more amused as she spoke, settling into her rhythm.

Hope felt like she'd been sucker punched, all the breath knocked out of her.

Leave it to Dark Josie to zero in on the exact insecurity that had been plaguing her for weeks, and burrow right down into it. And yet, part of her couldn't help but focus on what Josie had _almost_ said—how she'd stopped herself right before saying "me." Which was the crux of it, wasn't it? She didn't keep choosing _everyone else_ over Landon. She kept choosing _Josie_.

But she couldn't think about that right now, not when Josie was so _close_ , not when they'd just _kissed_. And anyway, it didn't matter because this wasn't really Josie, so: "Why are you saying all of this? What's your _point?_ "

"My point, silly Hope, is that I want you. Wanted you even when I was weak, pathetic Josie--but you already knew that." She leaned in even closer, hand flexing on Hope's throat, close enough for Hope to feel Josie's breath on her lips like a caress. "And I  _ know _ you want me."

Hope swallowed thickly. She could tell Josie felt it from the way her smirk widened. "I don't."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying. I don't want  _ this _ you." Well, Hope didn't  _ want _ to want Dark Josie, and that was kind of the same thing, wasn't it?

"See, I  _ know _ that's not true." With her free hand, she tucked a loose lock of Hope's hair behind her ear. "I've seen the way you look at me.  _ This _ me, specifically. You're not exactly subtle."

"Kind of a pot and kettle situation, no? I mean, your new look isn't exactly about understatement." Deflect, deflect, deflect. She absolutely could not let Josie know how close to the mark she was, or this was all over.

Josie's face lit with victory. Hope really really wished that it hadn't made her want to kiss Josie again so badly. "My point exactly. I'm over being subtle. I'm over just sitting back and waiting for the things I want. And I have to say, it feels  _ so _ good." God, the way she practically moaned that last part...Hope was in serious trouble. "Now, are you going to kiss me again or not?"

This time, the reasons this was a monumentally bad idea felt further away. She knew it still was, but it was hard to remember when Josie was so close to her, smelling so good and smirking like she already knew she'd won.

"Fuck it," she said, and surged forward to connect her lips with Josie's.

Josie melted into her immediately, her grip on Hope's throat shifting less to keep her pinned and more to guide Hope where she wanted her. Her other hand went right to Hope's waist, sliding under her shirt and drawing goosebumps along every inch of skin she touched.

"Finally," Josie gasped against her. "I knew you'd see things my way."

"Shut up." She kissed her again, which was a pretty effective way to make the younger witch stop talking.

Hope took advantage of her distraction, reversing their positions in an instant. She pinned Josie to the wall, her hands instinctively sliding to the siphoner's thighs. She got the hint instantly, her legs hitching around Hope's hips as Josie's arms draped over her shoulders, hands burying themselves in Hope's hair.

She couldn't stop kissing Josie. Nothing in the world mattered as much as how soft her lips were, how warm the siphoner felt in her arms, the way Josie's tongue curled just  _ so _ and a shock of lightning ran straight down her spine to her cunt.

Fuck, how was she this turned on already?

Joise tugged on her hair, sending more sparks through her. As a response, she ground her hips against the other girl's, seeking whatever friction she could find.

" _Yes_. More of that."

God, who knew Josie's voice could sound like pure sex? Hope certainly hadn't.

Needing to hear more of Josie's voice, she began kissing her way along Josie's jaw and down her neck, licking and nibbling at all that soft—and  _ amazingly _ sensitive, apparently—skin. Josie let out a moan, hips undulating against Hope's. A spicy-sweet scent hit her sensitive nose, and it took her a moment to realize she was smelling Josie's arousal.

_Holy shit_.

Her brain basically ceased to function, her body ruled purely by instinct. She couldn't think of any reasons  _ not _ to fuck Josie here and now, right up against this wall. Really, the only obstacle was that Josie was wearing a dress, which meant she'd have to get fully naked. Which Hope  _ definitely _ wouldn't have complained about, except they were in the library, and Hope really wasn't capable of controlling her inner wolf right now if any unlucky (or  _ too _ lucky?) student happened to walk in and see the siphoner naked.

So, an impasse.

She was about five seconds away from saying  _ fuck it _ again and just falling to her knees, when Josie spoke again.

"God, you're good at this," she breathed, voice  _ beyond _ turned on. "Just think, we could have been doing this ages ago, if not for my awful sister. But at least she'll be dead soon, and we can make up for lost time."

Hope felt like she'd been doused in ice water, her ardor breaking off instantly. A part of her wanted to keep going, but she felt like she'd come out of some sort of fog and found herself on the edge of a cliff. One she absolutely could not step off. 

(Especially not with Dark Josie. If she and Dark Josie really went that far, that would be it for any chance she ever had with the real Josie. Not that she wanted a chance with the real Josie...but if she did. Hypothetically. This was something they could never recover from.

And that wasn't even touching the whole "how to explain this to Landon" of it all.)

Josie pouted, tugging on Hope's hair again. "Hey, why'd you stop?"

She pulled back, forcing her hands away from the smooth skin of Josie's thighs, and dropped her to her feet.

"I can't do this."

Josie's eyes blinked open, expression going from confused to exasperated in a heartbeat.

"Not this _again_."

"I mean it. This was a mistake." Hope straightened her clothes, smoothing down her hair and hoping she didn't look as wrecked as she felt. "I might be attracted to you, but that doesn't make this right, and it doesn't make this something I want. Not with this you."

Josie looked into Hope's eyes for a protracted moment. Whatever it was that she found, it seemed to convince her, her impatience fading into a cold anger. "Fine. Screw you then. I was just using you to scratch an itch, anyway." She sneered. "I bet  _ Jade _ will be more than happy to take what I'm offering."

It was so stupid that that affected her at all. She was the one breaking this off, wasn't she? But the thought of Jade kissing Josie made something angry and white-hot flare in her chest.

She turned around so Josie couldn't see that she'd gotten the rise out of Hope that she'd wanted. "Do that. I don't care. I'll just be working on a way to bring back the  _ real _ Josie."

And with that parting shot, she retreated from the library as quickly as she could.


End file.
